The commissioners approved a proposed amendment to the Lake County Zoning Ordinance to address medical marijuana grows within mobile home parks and multi-family dwellings such as apartment complexes. The proposed amendment also addressed the processing of harvested medical marijuana.

The commissioners amended the section on mobile home park grows to prohibit outdoor cultivation unless park management sets up a designated garden area that allows for medical marijuana cultivation. Outdoor cultivation in mobile home parks would also be exempt for spaces with more than 4,500 square feet.

The proposal would ban cultivation of any kind in multi-family dwellings larger than a duplex. The processing of harvested medical marijuana is allowed, but is restricted to the number of plants allowed to be grown on-site in accordance with the existing interim medical marijuana cultivation ordinance. The proposed zoning amendment was approved unanimously.

In other matters, the commission approved a 30-year time extension on the major use permit for the Davies Estate drill pad operated by the Geysers Power Corporation on Cobb Mountain, despite the objections of seven Anderson Springs residents who said the 30-year extension was too long.

The commissioners found the project to be exempt from California Environmental Quality Act regulations because no changes would be made to the existing facility.

Retiring commissioner Cliff Swetnam recused himself from the discussion because of a conflict of interest.

Anderson Springs residents were in favor of a 10-year extension. The commissioners disagreed and approved the 30-year major use permit extension by a 4-0 vote.

The original major use permit was approved by the Planning Commission for 30 years in 1983. The geothermal facility has operated continuously since then.

A five-year time extension for an existing billboard, located off Highway 29 outside the Lakeport city limits, was approved by a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Olga Martin-Steele and Cliff Swetnam dissented.

The item was previously discussed by the commission at its Oct. 25 meeting, with no decision delivered. The billboard is located near existing wetlands, which caused concern about possible environmental impacts if the billboard were removed.

The proposal was amended to have the billboard's owner prepare a sign removal plan to mitigate environmental impacts to the site. A majority of the commissioners found the project met the requirements for a negative declaration and approved extending the use permit.

The commissioners unanimously agreed the sale of surplus land around Hinman Park in Nice was in conformity with the county's general plan. The land was purchased by the now-defunct County Redevelopment Agency in 2004 to establish a town center around the park.